NHL to potentially roll out player and puck tracking in 19/20 season.

[izzy]

i love it but i dont love what it will do to this board

 

[Daximus]

These stats should make a lot more sense (and mean a lot more) than things like CORSI and FENWICK and all of the /60 things. Basically you'll be able to look at individual player actions and outcomes, rather than just a big group of outcomes divided by an amount of time. A lot of current advanced stats are interesting stabs at these sorts of insights, but are insufficient. With this tech you'll be able to make the closest thing to descriptive, observational statistical examples of "good" and "bad" plays and their frequency. Will tell people a lot about a player's decision making, which current advanced stats don't.

Yeah it will be pretty awesome to have at our fingertips. In a small way we will finally be able to really quantify hockey IQ by those who make the smartest decisions when under pressure compared to those who do not. It may eventually lead to a revolution that some players aren't prepared for.

 

[Daximus]

i love it but i dont love what it will do to this board

It will take out the subjectivity that runs rampant around here. No more my player is the best at this thing. Because we can prove that they in fact are or are not. Player comparisons will be much easier then the current methods deployed by 3rd parties as well.

I suppose those who make baseless statements should be afraid as people can now do a quick search and show them why they are wrong.

 

[Desert Panther]

As long as they don't bring back the glowing puck!

 

[WinterEmpire]

From what I read the NBA has a 3 tier system for theirs. Some basic info that is available to the public. A paywall where fans can subscribe and view much further details and a 3rd option that is only visible to teams and the media.

Not sure how the NHL will go about it but I'd imagine if they can monetize it somehow they probably will.

In terms of how it affected the NBA. Players are getting congratulated for certain efforts while some players are getting exposed. Same thing that happened in baseball. Certain players that were once taken for granted using old talent identification methods are being given more of a shot while players who tend to ride coat tails are being outted.

Didn't individual shot tracking and defensive tracking also heavily contribute to the rise of the 3 pointer?

 

[Daximus]

Didn't individual shot tracking and defensive tracking also heavily contribute to the rise of the 3 pointer?

Yep. I imagine we will see some sort of revolution in the NHL with regards to shooters being put in more favourable positions to score goals based on their metrics when scoring goals. The data is still young so teams probably haven't fully realized it's potential yet.

 

[Rich Nixon]

Yeah it will be pretty awesome to have at our fingertips. In a small way we will finally be able to really quantify hockey IQ by those who make the smartest decisions when under pressure compared to those who do not. It may eventually lead to a revolution that some players aren't prepared for.

Yeah, I'm excited. I basically hate the current crop of advanced stats (I know a lot of people are addicted to them), they're just so inadequate for appraising how the sport works that they're not really good for making personnel decisions. Hockey isn't baseball, it isn't a stop-start series of plays that all start the same way and produce one of a quantifiable number of results. This isn't a sport that can be understood by crunching numbers. Which is why the earlier "analytics evolution" didn't exactly take hold.

With actual, situational movement tracking we'll actually be able to develop statistics that 1. Make sense 2. Are demonstrable and 3. Show not just whether a player makes the right decision but whether they are able to successfully execute the action they have chosen to undertake.

I'm imagining stuff like being able to look at "pass first" players, the Backstroms and Girouxs of the world, and whether in certain situations passing was the worse option, and then over periods of time how many potential scoring opportunities those tendencies create and how many they don't.

This stuff will allow players to make adjustments to their games, rather than just like "Your Corsi's low, go fling some shots out there" or whatever.

 

[Daximus]

Yeah, I'm excited. I basically hate the current crop of advanced stats (I know a lot of people are addicted to them), they're just so inadequate for appraising how the sport works that they're not really good for making personnel decisions. Hockey isn't baseball, it isn't a stop-start series of plays that all start the same way and produce one of a quantifiable number of results. This isn't a sport that can be understood by crunching numbers. Which is why the earlier "analytics evolution" didn't exactly take hold.

With actual, situational movement tracking we'll actually be able to develop statistics that 1. Make sense 2. Are demonstrable and 3. Show not just whether a player makes the right decision but whether they are able to successfully execute the action they have chosen to undertake.

I'm imagining stuff like being able to look at "pass first" players, the Backstroms and Girouxs of the world, and whether in certain situations passing was the worse option, and then over periods of time how much many potential scoring opportunities those tendencies create and how many they don't.

This stuff will allow players to make adjustments to their games, rather than just like "Your Corsi's low, go fling some shots out there" or whatever.

I agree we can finally see whether some of those guys are giving up really good opportunities themselves simply by over passing. This new era of advanced stats is going to be far better then the corsi era. Things like turnovers and takeaway will no longer be at the behest of stadium trackers and will be truly relevant as well.

 

[Gunnersaurus Rex]

....how to kill the enjoyment of the game by over analysis with advance stats...

 

[Rich Nixon]

I agree we can finally see whether some of those guys are giving up really good opportunities themselves simply by over passing. This new era of advanced stats is going to be far better then the corsi era. Things like turnovers and takeaway will no longer be at the behest of stadium trackers and will be truly relevant as well.

Yup, even things like "hits" that are counted arbitrarily by in-arena personnel could be better understood and used to teach players when it's even worth it to step into a guy. Could make the game safer pretty organically. Also could increase scoring by eliminating low-percentage tendencies.

I mean, this opens the door for specific tailored AI tools that would allow you to literally punch in the exact ratio of actions you were looking for in an ideal, say, "stay-at-home defenseman" and identify a player best suited for it and go sign the guy. Things like line construction could be tailored, that sort of thing, based on what type of tendencies best complement others.

Obviously, it will take a long time to really make an impact on the ice, but a new generation of players will be coached differently because of this stuff.

....how to kill the enjoyment of the game by over analysis with advance stats...

Nah, this isn't that. As said, current advanced stats aren't very good and are overused by people who don't understand how little they say. Think of that as like, an accountant with a million spreadsheets open. This is more like superhuman hockey analysis/coaching, like if the world's best scout had a photographic memory and was able to watch every player on the ice at once.

Current advanced stats are pagers, this is iPhone shit.

 

[Paperbagofglory]

Just microchip the players already. I want to know their heart and breathing rates, and their deep dark thoughts.

 

[Daximus]

....how to kill the enjoyment of the game by over analysis with advance stats...

It's the natural trend in anything people do. Analyze ways to do it better and then execute on those findings. Just like the calculator killed the abacus. Those who do not keep up fall behind but no one is forcing them to keep up. You don't have to look at the stats, you can still just watch the game if that is all you crave.

 

[Sheppy]

Barf.

 

[Daximus]

Just microchip the players already. I want to know their heart and breathing rates, and their deep dark thoughts.

Thats basically what a fitbit does...

 

[MarkusKetterer]

Just microchip the players already. I want to know their heart and breathing rates, and their deep dark thoughts.

On the ice it's: "that's my puck. give it back!!" Except Brad Marchand. Then it's "he looks tasty"

 

[LT]

Is there any possibility of this being applied retroactively? As long as the location of the camera is known, I believe all of the necessary information can be figured out and applied to any hockey film.

Would make for an interesting study, to see how effective players have been over time and how that's changed.

 

[Paperbagofglory]

Thats basically what a fitbit does...

Would a fitbit use microchip technology to inject the players with a chemical that will raise and boost their endurance to near inhuman levels when they are tired? i think not. Think of the future.

 

[jetsforever]

Sounds cool

 

[Daximus]

Is there any possibility of this being applied retroactively? As long as the location of the camera is known, I believe all of the necessary information can be figured out and applied to any hockey film.

Would make for an interesting study, to see how effective players have been over time and how that's changed.

Would be cool but I think their cameras have a certain technology tied in with the A.I.

 

[Daximus]

Would a fitbit use microchip technology to inject the players with a chemical that will raise and boost their endurance to near inhuman levels when they are tired? i think not. Think of the future.

haha well it could. We should just have the XHL already where the rule is you have to be roided out to play.

 

[Paperbagofglory]

haha well it could. We should just have the XHL already where the rule is you have to be roided out to play.

I agree, i want to be entertained and not preached about morals.

 

[Johnny HFBOARDS]

Just microchip the players already. I want to know their heart and breathing rates, and their deep dark thoughts.

 

[Daximus]

I agree, i want to be entertained and not preached about morals.

Screw it lets drop the game entirely and just bring back the gladiator arena.

 

[Rich Nixon]

This will be GREAT. I can stop reading about how Wild Bill can't replicate his goal percentage once people can see everything he does away from the net highlighted.

And things like "lol no way he can replicate that shooting %." We'll be able to understand why player shooting percentages are what they are...

 

[Howie Hodge]

Farts and nose picks/60 please

To go along with fantasy hockey and fantasy football...

I'll take wins above replacement for 100 please Alex....